Media, Power & Culture

The course explores key theories which explain the inter-relationships of the media, popular culture and social power. These range from political economy to cultural and audience studies, and key theories of race, gender and intersectionality in the media. These are introduced in relation to key contemporary trends such as globalisation, global geopolitics and the rise of networked media. Students are given tools to understand attention economies, algorithmic power and contemporary issues of 'dataveillance'. The course also explores the appropriation of both mass and networked media in everyday life. A set of compulsory workshops build students' skills in audience research, critical thinking and data analysis and visualisation.

DP requirements: All written work must be submitted by the stipulated dates. Students who miss more than two tutorials will lose their DPs.

Assessment: Tutorial assignments and/ or tests 20%; two assignments 25% each; a two-hour examination 30%.

The University of Cape Town awards credits based on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to determine course and contact hour recommendations per course. 1 NQF credit represents roughly 10 notional hours of work which includes study time, assignments and examinations. Notional hours may very per courses depending on the course level and modality therefore, CEA recommends using NQF credits as a basis to determine U.S. equivalencies (1 NQF=.222 semester credits)